noun
iceman
noun
1
Someone who delivers or sells block ice, especially from the days before home refrigerators.
"The iceman used to come round twice a week before everyone had a fridge."
"Her grandfather worked as an iceman in the 1930s."
2
Informal: someone who stays completely calm and unemotional under pressure, especially a hired killer in fiction.
"The negotiator was a real iceman, never raising his voice even in a crisis."
"In the film, the hitman is nicknamed "the Iceman" for his cold efficiency."
How to Use Iceman
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither a person who used to deliver ice for iceboxes, or (more commonly today) someone who's unnervingly calm under pressure.
Common pairings
cool as an iceman
the iceman cometh
Word Forms
icemen plural
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The _____ used to come round twice a week before everyone had a fridge.
Etymology
A straightforward compound of "ice" and "man" — someone whose job or personality centres on ice, literal or figurative.